Darju, like a lot of races here, have very little actual racial development in my opinion. I believe this was intentionally done so as to give the player a wider scope on how to RP their individual.

That said, it is not entirely difficult to come to the opinion that Darju are a cat-like race ... maybe not to the point of having little retractable claws, sharp pointy teeth, and a long tail, but still just enough similarity to provide the link between the two. Darju's are considered instensely predatorial and they will hunt anything possible; a trait in most carnivorous animals. Darju's have a month-long gestation period and from my understanding, Haelrahv's time is double our time. Cats, on the other hand, generally have a 62 day gestation period (two earth months roughly, so roughly one haelrahvian month). Then with the mantle that many see as manes. It is a tuft of hair about the shoulders, neck, and back area ... very similar to a Lion's mane which also covers the shoulders, neck, and upper back.

While this isn't a cry to make darju's more cat-like, it is however explaining and giving factual information as to how the race can easily be identified as a cat-person. It is very open to interpretation and with the information provided, it is not seen as that far of a stretch to conclude that darju are indeed cats.

I won't tell you how to roleplay your Darju, Zafire, but I will say that while I wouldn't personally portray them as catlike, I would definantly RP a darjuan character as very bestial and animalistic with a certain savageness that would probably disgust most other races.

EDIT: While writing this, I remembered Morrigan said a season long gestation, not a month long ... consequently, I don't feel like erasing the bit above since I'm way too lazy, and it's way too early._________________Life is grand. Then you become a surfer with a keen interest in thrilling acts of life-threatening stupidity and realize that the only real life, is the one full of fun times.

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I just always figured Darju were like the Thundercats, only more human-like and less prone to cat related puns.

Then again, I see Eolai as Haelrahv's version of Elves, Jaddan as Haelrahv's version of Giantmen, and Alteri are Haelrahv's version of Gnomes/Halflings/etc (but you won't see me going around claiming Alteri have furry feet and button noses or anything like that)._________________A bright-eyed Thekko Ku Kalla dressed in a dapper sailor suit takes to flight and careers through the air toward the Modan Kucho and slams into him!
With a high-pitched cry, The Modan Kucho collapses in death.

Trevor has said the artist that did the race pictures, picked out some of the rare attributes, and hence the artistic license makes Darju look more feline like. He stated numerous times it's not a cat race.

One Trevor quote:

Quote:

While Darju are -not- cat people, they share a lot of the qualities you'd expect: agile, toned, balanced, and strong without looking like a powerhouse necessarily. In appearance, their only real comparison though, would be the markings which could easily resemble something akin to tiger stripes or leopard spots.

Ears can in some cases look pointed, but in the way human ears would look pointed, for the most part. They don't have pointed, drawn back ears like cats, nor do they have true pointed ears like an elf or a vulcan. It just so happens that John's rendering of the race gave this illusion. You'll notice it on some other stuff he's done too.

A Darju could have fairly pointed ears. I suppose a rare one could have really pointed ears. But this is far from typical. And *no* Darju has a tail, whiskers, etc, because they are not cat people. ;D

(Even though I'm rarely about.. still a major pet peeve.)_________________~* TruSt iN YouRseLf *~